He Made $3.6B Selling Fitness Trackers | WHOOP Founder Will Ahmed

This week, we're putting the spotlight on Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of WHOOP, a wearable tech company now valued in the billions.

Will's path is unconventional—from being a 22-year-old with no formal business experience to leading a health-tech brand used by top athletes, including LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

In our interview, Will discusses the crucial pivot to a subscription model that transformed WHOOP's growth trajectory and how he tackled the challenges of raising capital for a hardware-focused product in a competitive market.

“I was building a business on paper that I really had no business building” - Will Ahmed

Listen to our full interview with Will on the Foundr Podcast to learn how his relentless drive to solve a personal challenge led to the creation of WHOOP.

Foundr Story - Will Ahmed

Growing up with a passion for sports and wellness, Will Ahmed was driven by a deep curiosity to understand human performance. 

As a competitive squash player at Harvard, he often pushed his body to its limits, experiencing the strain and burnout that come with overtraining. This frustration led him to a question that would change his life: 

Why isn’t there a better way to measure what’s happening inside the body?

Determined to find answers, Will dove into physiology research, reading countless medical papers to explore ways of optimizing athletic performance and recovery. This intense curiosity led him to the idea for WHOOP—a wearable device that could track and deliver insights on sleep, strain, and recovery, helping athletes understand and enhance their performance.

5 Lessons from Will Ahmed:

• Fall in love with the problem: Will emphasizes that it’s better to become deeply invested in solving a problem than simply wanting to start a business. Passion for solving a problem will keep you going through tough times.
• Obsess over what you’re measuring: The idea for WHOOP emerged from Will’s drive to better understand his body and performance metrics as an athlete. 
• Don’t be afraid to change your business model: Six years into building WHOOP, Will made the bold decision to transition to a subscription model, which ultimately led to the company’s massive success. 
• Build scarcity when raising capital: Will advises that scarcity is critical in raising funds. Approach multiple investors at once and set deadlines for commitments so investors feel a sense of urgency and commitment to the opportunity.
• Accept that you’ll outgrow some team members: One of the toughest lessons for Will was recognizing when long-time team members were no longer the right fit for new growth stages.

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• Customer Engagement: The Secret to Long-Term Success

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